Amazon Search

Earlier today, a constituent of North Dakota Congressman Kevin Cramer posted a comment on Cramer's Facebook wall. The constituent apparently wanted to make sure that -- after Cramer's vote to take food out of the mouths of hungry children, disabled people, the elderly and many military veterans -- Cramer was aware of some of the Biblical passages supporting the idea of helping the least of these. Cramer's response is kind of stunning. His response is, essentially, to let those people starve. Citing a different Biblical passage, here's what Cramer wrote:

Congressman Kevin Cramer 2 Thessalonians 3:10 English Standard Version (ESV) 10 For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.

So there you go folks. The hungry children of veterans who can't find jobs or who are disabled; those kids can just starve. See, Cramer's a good Christian, and Thessalonians says we need to let the children of people who can't work or who can't find jobs starve.

Now, to be clear, I'm not some great Biblical scholar. And I don't know very many great Biblical scholars. I'm quite certain Kevin Cramer isn't a great Biblical scholar. Why? Because his quote makes clear that he thinks the Bible has told him that everyone who is poor is also lazy.

Cramer assumes everybody who receives SNAP assistance is lazy. Because, of course, the Christian thing to do is to assume that everyone who isn't working isn't willing to work. And we should hate those people and let them "not eat." Let's just forget all that crap the Bible says about helping poor people. Why not?!? He forgets that many who receive SNAP assistance work. Many work full-time. Many work multiple jobs. It's not that they're lazy, Kevin; it's that our economy needs a lot of working poor people. WalMart needs a lot of working poor. Kevin's owner -- the Man Who Bought North Dakota -- needs a lot of working poor people. How would the Walton family make so much money if they weren't able to pay so many people so little?!?

You want to know who's lazy? Let's talk about the U.S. House of Representatives. Do you know how many days they're in session this year? 126 days. That's 10.5 days per month. Congressman Cramer works an average of 19.4 hours per week, and he's suggesting lazy people shouldn't get to eat?!? Maybe Cramer (and the family member he has working in his official Congressional office) shouldn't eat.

And -- speaking of not working -- what is our Congressman doing responding to messages on his Facebook wall at 2:00 p.m. on a Friday? We're paying $174,000 per year to work less than half-time AND he's hangin' out on the Facebook? Doesn't Congressman Cramer have anything better to do?

...
So cutting the food stamp program is based on the scripture Representative Cramer quoted rather than based on policy of a program which provides food. Taking a scripture out of context and basing a government policy on it is poor governing. What would Jesus do? Sounds like a justification for his action, his vote. Very sad.

Bravo!
Congrats for your h/t and re-pub by Talking Points Memo. I never thought in my worst nightmares that ND could have elected a more craven political hack than the Illinois district that elected Joe "deadbeat dad" Walsh. Sorry to see ND did elect the worst Congressman money could buy.

...
I just posted this on his facebook page because I really want to know. Representative Kevin Kramer how much are you paid? Do you have an allowance for paying your staff, if so how much is it? Are you reimbursed for your trips back to our state? Is your wife paid a salary by your office for scheduling your appointments if so how much is the salary for a scheduler? I was very curious about what the total amount of your costs and salary is as a Representative, because I was shocked to hear you are homeless in Washington DC and living in your office. It seems very strange to me and also seems like you are not committed to staying in Washington DC, because you are living like many homeless in DC yet I know you have to be making at least a $100,000 a year? This all seems very strange to me because it seems you have been given the blessing of much but may be requiring more of the "least" amongst us and alluded into an article you are not being paid as much as you were when you were a PSC commissioner. I called into a town hall to have you answer these questions but the program ended before my question could be asked, I think now more than ever we need to know why you are homeless in DC on your salary.

...
Here's what is even sadder. I'm sure that there are many North Dakotans and their family members who benefit from SNAP (and who will also benefit from Obamacare) who were foolish enough to vote for this asshat. Because they mindlessly seem to vote for candidates with "R" behind their name on the ballot, these folks deserve to get the horrible policies emanating from this do nothing but protect the rich Congress.

The actual reason...
...to oppose what was said is because, like the Constitution, it's one of those quotes the far right often quotes but barely understands. The quote was in the cotext of those at the time who quit working waiting for Jesus to arrive. Basically he's saying, "Listen, don't quit your day jobs; I might be awhile." Instead, the context is ignored I. Favor of a quote that makes it sound as if Christ is saying, "Work or die, it's your choice. I don't care. Whaddya want from me?" Which was sooooo like him.

...
Leviticus 20:9 says we should put to death any child that curses his mother or father. Perhaps we could legislate that? timothy 2:11-12 says women should be subservient, quiet, and never have authority over men. Its in the bible, lets legislate it.

Some conservatives have taken to quoting 2 Thessalonians 3:10, which reads

10 For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: "If a man will not work, he shall not eat."

to justify their desire to drastically reduce or even eliminate food stamps to millions of poor people. This seems to be a misunderstanding of the real import of the passage, which is directed at those Christians who are neglecting their work because they believe in the imminent Second Coming of Christ. This is found in 2 exegeses of this passage, one by John Darby and the other by Matthew Henry.

Darby -

Christ Himself was waiting-sweet thought! They were to wait with Him, until the moment when His heart and the hearts of His own should rejoice together in their meeting.

It was this which they needed. On the one hand, they had believed that the dead saints would not be ready to go and meet the Lord; on the other, they had thought the day of the Lord already come. The enjoyment of the love of God, and peace of heart in waiting for Christ, was necessary for them.

This excitement into which they had been led had also betrayed itself in some among them by their neglect of their ordinary labors, " working not at all but being busybodies," intermeddling in the affairs of others.

Henry -

It is probable that these persons had a notion (by misunderstanding some passages in the former epistle) concerning the near approach of the coming of Christ, which served them for a pretence to leave off the work of their callings, and live in idleness. Note, It is a great error, or abuse of religion, to make it a cloak for idleness or any other sin.

There are many other commentaries on this passage, some which point out that Paul's statement is a reflection of a couple of popular Jewish sayings and others claiming that this passage is addressed to a particular problem among the Thessalonians. One from John Calvin even uses the passage to condemn the mendicant orders of priests and monks. In any case, it's quite a stretch to apply this to SNAP benefits.

UPDATE: In 2007, I noted that Michael Medved (and Dennis Prager) have both abused a passage from Leviticus.

...
Any society has to take care of the poorer citizenry. This is not only biblical, but a mere scan-reading of Plato's Republic should convince any one of the need to look out for the most vulnerable.

Why are there so many men and women in America who do not have empathy towards others? I have always believed it is because of these things: 1) They have never suffered hunger before, 2)They have never been discriminated against, and 3) They are just cold-hearted.

What is the remedy for them? These type of people need to lose their jobs, and then, they need to suffer in an environment where no one will ever hire them, because no one likes them, and they need to suffer the effects of hunger that go beyond just a mere hurting stomach of a few days. They need to feel weak. They need to become dizzy. They need to realize their sight is becoming blurry. They need to feel hunger for at least a month and a half. Then, they need to humble themselves to ask for a SNAP card, and to go to the local pantry. Then, once they have their SNAP card they need to endure the suffering by hearing the cold-hearted, jealous cashier at the supermarket put them down for having a SNAP card to the next customers extant as they leave through the front door. Then out in the parking lot, let the gang of customers tell the SNAP users that they are paying for that food in a most hateful-sounding way.

A lot of people work, and their pay is not a living wage. A lot of people work, but they are not paid at all. Work is work, but not all work is paid work. There is not too much to argue about here. We all know that at least half of the people on food stamps are children. Luke 17:2 states: "It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones." How dare any one on this earth let children starve.

Yet the GOP, as in dodo-birds united, are doing just that. But not all Republicans went along with the swine herd. These ones were the brightest among them.

There is some abuse of the SNAP program that has been noted and verified. Abuse could be prevented by more thorough paperwork screening. The answers are not the implantation of an RFID micro-chip in the hand of a SNAP user, nor is the mandatory drug screening by the analysis of their urine. These two proposed answers are unconstitutional, and they are in violation of a person's privacy. That is, no person should ever allow governmental agencies to take control of their persons and this applies to the TSA in their evil, mishandling of American citizens of not only molesting these Americans, but also by having them go through the cancer-causing radiation-emitting naked body screeners. Just say NO to any one in government who tries to harm you in any way.

The truth is that most of the people that have SNAP are honest and would rather take care of themselves by having a job that has a living wage. There is a young lawyer in Texas, who recently graduated. She is on food stamps, because no one will hire her. It is not only the uneducated who are hungry, but it is also the educated who are out of work and are hungry.

God has a way in humbling the proud. And He will. Many of those men and women who voted to take food from the hungry, will reap what they have sown.

...
A few of the Republicans of the House who voted against this legislation represented West Virginia, which is a great state of salt-of-the-earth patriots descended from many of the first families of America. As you know, West Virginia is known for its steel mills and its coal plants. It is a state that has had its share of ups and downs. The people there are hardy, good, and for the most part have the fear of God in them. They know what a real Bible is, and they know the Lord of the Bible. They are square, honest, and will fight for the right.

In the hills and hollows of West Virginia life is still hard for so many. Like North Dakota, in its rural areas, the infrastructure that is needed to attract corporations is not in place; therefore, job strength is not increasing. Depending on the educational and technical level of the residents and depending on how many mouths to feed in each family, earning a living wage is not realized by all workers, sad to say, once hired to any jobs extant. Working hours are being cut due to the high cost of Obamacare, which further takes the food from the poorest of our Citizens. Incentives to attract large or small businesses to impoverished areas must be given, and all products and services by slave foreign labor or by competitive paid foreign workers must be rejected.

The Republicans, who represent West Virginia, know the people, whom they represent. They are true representatives of the people. The people of West Virginia need the help and will continue to need help if economic development does not take place increasingly over time especially in rural West Virginia.

We, as a country, need to buy U.S.A. manufactured products and services, and we need to purchase homegrown foods as well. The best way to take care of our people is to keep jobs in America, and create new jobs by not buying foreign-made or grown goods. There is no need to deal with American services that have their workers hired in India.

North Dakota is prospering because of the oil boom, but not all counties or persons in those boom counties are prospering because of the oil. Working able-body families, especially in the rural areas in North Dakota, are still hungry, and need help. There are disabled heads of families, who cannot work, that need help to feed their children. It is not the fault of these families that they need help. They are of the good pioneering stock of North Dakota. And their individual families have done their part to make this state as great as it is today. The infrastructure that is needed in the rural areas to attract corporations to bring in well-paying jobs is not in these rural areas in ND.

It seems to me whether an American is in West Virginia, North Dakota, or in Idaho, etc., that if we do not stand for the well-being of one another by working together to provide needed infrastructure so that people can be relieved of their poverty, then, we will continue to disintegrate as a nation into a third world country. When and if that happens will any country air-lift us any rice to eat? Or will we all be dreaming of EBT cards that our country will never see again?

...
Cramer's Thessalonians quote cites a passage that was a favorite of V.I. Lenin, who proclaimed it as an adage that is a foundation of socialism. So, I guess radical right anarchists, like Cramer, are not that different from radical left revolutionaries, like Lenin.

...
Nim, I would not call Cramer an "anarchist"; rather, I would call him a sellout who campaigned for small goverment and then ended up in John Boehner's back pocket, going back on promises to fight Obamacare, etc. His vote to sell America's future out in the Continuing Resolution a couple of weeks ago tells us all we need to know about this man. He is a traitor to the people who supported him and to the "principles" on which he ran. Worse, yet, he insulted North Dakotans with his lie that he didn't vote to fund Obamacare. That bit of disingenuousness comes right out of Bill Clinton's paybook. Obviously he voted to fund it. The 2010 Congress did too, but he wasn't in on that one. When the opportunity came to hold the line on this atom bomb in our economy - guaranteed to through millions out of work even as it takes their insurance policies away from them (policies they have maintained through their premium payments for decades), where was Cramer? Hobnobbing with the worst RINOs in Washington. One hundred forty-four better Congressmen voted NO on this one - THAT would have defunded Obamacare eventually, if he and the other 86 worthless RINO cronies and traitors had joined THEM and not Nancy Pelosi. Sadly, Cramer was lined up with Pelosi and every Democrat in the House. He is a worthless sham. If the Republican Party cannot do better in ND, it is time for the nuclear option: replace him on the ticket or vote Democrat in 2014. Same goes for that loser John Hoeven. A more useless pair can hardly be imagined. Handmaidens for Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid. North Dakota should be ashamed of this pontificating jackass. We have a choice, though. Just get rid of this prostitute next year.